Method of manufacturing jewelry parts



United States Patent O Int. Cl. B440 1/08 U.S. Cl. 11719 8 ClaimsABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A method of manufacturing jewelry partscomprising the following successive steps: coating rigid base pieceswith a layer of congealable varnish; and while the varnish is tacky,depositing the base pieces onto a layer of finely divided decorativeparticles supported upon a flat pliant sheet; then agitating the basepieces by manipulating the said sheet so as to cause adherence of theparticles to the tacky surface of the varnish; and after removal of anyexcess of the particles, and upon the coated surface becomingsufficiently dry and before complete congelation of the varnish,pressing the adhering particles into the congealing varnish by furthermanipulation of the pliant sheet, thereby producing a smooth surface onthe resultant jewelry parts.

My present invention relates broadly to the field o costume jewelry andmore particularly relates to the process or step by step method formanufacturing plural colorful parts from which various types ofdecorative jewelry, baubles, and beads may be assembled.

The present invention provides a method for manufacturing finishedjewelry parts from inexpensive base material, for example macaroniproducts, in relatively large quantities thus keeping the cost forproducing the costume jewelry at a minimum, and is an improvement overmy previously issued Canadian Patent Number 683,627, dated April 7,1964, which discloses improved steps that I have developed, and whichspecifically render the time required to produce jewelry parts of betterfinished quality, when compared with those produced under the process ofsaid Canadian patent, at a considerable savings of time.

The invention consists principally in improving the steps employed toapply scintillating particles or glitter to provide a pleasing surfaceappearance and, further, to imbed said particles into a varnish coatcovering a rigid base or body to which the finish is applied and whichdictates the general configuration of the finished jewelry part.

In order that my improved method may be clearly understood, I shallexplain one manner in which it may be carried out in connection with abase material of a macroni product which I have found to be desirablefrom the standpoint of availability at an economically feasible cost perprice.

To be economically practical, it is desirable to submit a relativelylarge quantity of pieces of the base for the jewelry part to the severalsteps of this method simultaneously since, obviously, doing one piece ata time would require such an expenditure of time as to result in a finalcost approximating jewelry utilizing precious metals and gems and thusdestroy any possible market.

One shape and size is chosen from among the many macroni products nowavailable on the market which choice will dictate the final jewelry partshape and size desired by the operator. This may or may not be one ofthe products of tubular configuration; that is, one having a centralaperture, depending upon how the jewelry part is to be finally mounted.Obviously the finished parts may be mounted by one of the well knownmethods for mounting decorative items, such as by stringing, byemploying an adhesive, by confinement under malleable metal fingers orotherwise as found desirable.

When one employs the macaroni products having a central aperture as forexample that conventionally termed, salad macaroni, it is necessary toinsure that the central aperture is not filled or unduly diminished soas not to preclude it from being strung on a string. This may be easilyaccomplished by applying each coat of variiish as a very thin coatemploying a viscosity reduc lng agent as found desirable to provide afluid in which the viscosity of the varnish is such that the surfacetension will rupture any film that may form at an orifice of 'thecentral aperture.

There are a number of ways in which these macaroni products may beprovided with one or more layers of corigealable varnish. For examplethe base parts may be spread over a surface and the varnish may beapplied by hand with a brush or sprayed on from a pressurized can asrevealed in my said Canadian patent, or alternatively by means of adevice such as that disclosed in patent 2,622,042, dated December 16,1952, wherein the pieces may be moved on conveyors, and coated or strungon strings and dipped. For an acceptable practice of this invention itis sufficient to provide a rigid supporting base with at least one layerof a congealable varnish.

By varnish I mean any natural or artificial product resembling varnishwhich through natural drying or applied heat or other agents willcongeal into a hard coating material. Obviously the varnishes may beclear or of any desired color to result in a jewelry part having theaesthetic qualities desired. Also the base may be provided with anynumber of coats of varnish consonant with maintaining a centralaperture, where this type of base is selected, and in combinations ofcolored and clear to further enhance the final appearance of the jewelrypart.

It is required, however, in the practice of the present inventive methodthat prior to the herein defined steps the decorative jewelry parts beprovided with a coat of congealable varnish wherein the surface is stillin a tacky condition. In this tacky condition, the jewelry parts maystick together except for the fact that the cohesive strength of thevarnish, wherein the viscosity is reduced as aforesaid, is notsufficient to support the weight of a jewelry part; that is to say, iftwo of the jewelry parts are stuck together and one is elevated, theother will fall away therefrom since the gravitational pull exerts aforce greater than the cohesive force of the varnish.

Jewelry parts having the tacky varnish surface are deposited upon a thinlayer of finely divided, decorative, free particles commonly known asglitter which reflect light and thus appear to scintillate. Theseparticles may vary in size but it has been found that a practical rangeof sizes is in those particles which are larger than dust, passingthrough a sieve of say 40 mesh, and smaller than those largest particlesthat will pass through a sleve of say 20 mesh. Obviously, however, thesize of the particles will be proportional in some degree to the size ofthe supporting base and whether or not it has an aperture through whicha string is to be passed.

Said layer of finely divided decorative particles shall ice ' besprinkled upon and supported by a pliant sheet laid as hereinafter moreparticularly described. I have used pliant sheets of plastic materialranging in thickness from .25 mil to 2 mils and have found while all ofthese materials are usable, those of the very thinnest gauge are toodelicate and require extreme care to prevent rupture of the sheet, thusslowing the process of manufacture in accordance with this disclosure.Those in the heavier gauges are less pliable and to this degree requirea longer time of manipulation to produce the desired results. 1therefore recommend though I do not limit the'invention to using apliant sheet of plastic material, having a thickness of approximately 1mil; however, the material need not be plastic, but may be a finelywoven cloth, where the size of the particles is such that they may notpass through the cloth and the texture of the cloth is such as topreclude adherence of the particles to the cloth to any great degree.

Preferably, though not absolutely necessarily, after the supporting basehaving an outer layer of tacky congealable varnish is disposed upon thelayer of finely divided decorative particles I sprinkle from a containerhaving a perforated top over the top of the plural bases an additionalquantity of the decorative particles to facilitate rapid covering of thesupporting bases. This precludes, as much as possible, the stickingtogether of two or more supporting bases during initial manipulativemovements of the sheet wherein the pliable sheet may be manipulated byraising the peripheral edges to form a bag-like container andmanipulating the contents as by shaking, jarring, kneading, or otherwiseagitating the bases in the presence of the decorative particles untilall of the outer tacky surfaces of the bases are covere to the degreedesired.

The quantity of the parts so treated are spread again into a thin layerand permitted to dry sufficiently so that the surface of the varnishbecomes dry and yet complete congealation of the subsurface varnish hasnot taken place, before, during or after which the excess decorativeparticles are sifted therefrom. The time required for this drying willvary depending upon the volatility of the varnish used, and the humidityand temperature of the atmosphere wherein the parts are disposed.Artificial drying means such as a heated drying oven or heat lampsmaterially speed this drying process and also should the operatordesire, periodic repositioning of the parts by stirring or agitationwill further decrease the time required to dry the surface of thevarnish.

At this time, with the varnish dry on the surface only, the quantity ofjewelry parts and again manipulated in the pliant sheet. This may be thesame pliant sheet or another similar sheet as found desirable, at whichtime the tumbling of the parts upon each other causes the pressuresgenerated among the parts and between the parts and the pliant sheet topress the decorative particles into the congealating subsurface varnishand thus produce a smooth surface. To assist in this step it is helpfulto knead the jewelry parts through the pliant sheet by use of the handsor mechanical means, that is, by applying pressures through the outersurfaces of the now bag-like pliant sheet to the jewelry parts andspeeding the process of smoothing these surfaces. The parts are thenspread into a layer again and permitted to complete the congealationprocess, after which they may be strung upon a string. A final coat ornumber of coats of clear varnish may be applied to give an appearance ofdepth to the jewelry part if desired.

While it is not frequent that two or more of the jewelry parts sticktogether by reason of the congealating varnish, those that may do so areseparated during the second manipulation of those parts in the plasticsheet. Where this separation has taken place, there will be a minuteexposed tacky surface at the point of separation on each of the parts,but it has been found that these surfaces pick up some of the decorativeparticles which may have been added or loosened during manipulation,

and are thus not visible to the eye at the end of the secondmanipulation step.

By using the method herein described I can finish jewelry parts inquantity lots and secure a decidedly improved and desirable finishedproduct having a smooth surface which will not catch upon the threads ofsweaters and other wearing apparel. Also these improved steps enable oneto produce desirable, smooth finishes in a. very wide variety.

While I have described a preferred embodiment of my invention, I do notwish to be limited to the exact materials described herein because thescope of my invention is best defined in the following claims.

I claim:

1. The method of manufacturing decorative jewelry parts from rigidsupporting base pieces having at least one layer of congealable varnish,wherein the improvement comprises the successive steps of: when thesurface of said varnish is tacky, depositing said base pieces onto alayer of finely divided decorative free particles supported upon asubstantially fiat pliant sheet; manipulating said sheet so as to effectagitation of said pieces sufficiently to cause adherence of saidparticles to the tacky surface of said varnish; removing any excess ofsaid particles not adhering to said jewelry parts; upon the said surfacebecoming sufficiently dry and before complete congelation of saidvarnish, further manipulating the pliant sheet containing said jewelryparts so as to press said adhering particles into said varnish, wherebyto produce a smooth surface on said parts; and thence effecting completecongelation of said varnish.

2. The invention defined in claim 1 and further characterized byincluding during one or more steps of manipulating said pliant sheet,manipulation by kneading said parts contained within the said sheetthrough the sheet from the outside thereof.

3. The invention according to claim 1 wherein the varnish and theparticles are selected from among groups including various colors.

4. The invention according to claim 1 wherein the said base is amacaroni product of a preselected shape.

5. The invention according to claim 2 wherein the varnish and theparticles are selected from among groups including various colors.

6. The invention according to claim 5 wherein the said base is amacaroni product of a preselected shape.

7. The invention defined in claim 1 and further characterized byapplying a finish coat of varnish over the parts after the said finalcongelation.

8. The invention defined in claim 1 and further char; acterized byinterposing the step of sprinkling an additional quantity of freeparticles over said parts while being deposited on said layer ofparticles before said first named manipulation of said sheet.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS MURRAY KATZ, Primary ExaminerRAYMOND M. SPEER, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R.

